Shot in the Dark (book 2 of the Storm Chasers series)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

With the camp set up, the place seemed a bit more lively. Crow helped dig up a pit for a fire, along with a tent for the fire. Fulmar stayed behind to chat with the others. Crow decided to do something different. He went out to find a huge log, good enough to sand. He dragged it back to camp, also bringing a couple splinters with him.

"Feli, do you have a knife, hammer and sandpaper?" Crow asked.

"Wh-We are only going to be here for one night, Crow!" Felidae reprimanded.

"It'd be good to have a place to sit, you know?"

"Stop messing around, Ok? Thank you for the log, but we really didn't need it. Go help Fulmar or something, Ok? I need to talk to Raven."

"Yeah, fine."

Crow huffed angrily, walking away. He sat against the side of the tent, furiously writing in his journal.

"Who does he think he is anyways? First he beats up Raven, then he tells me to go away. In fact, he's obsessed with talking to Raven. I can talk about cool things, too. I'm also important," He mumbled to himself. "I'll get back on them, then. Somehow. I don't know how, pero...It'll be fine."

Crow walked up to Fulmar, looking at what he was cooking.

"Are we supposed to eat that?" Crow asked.

"Eh...I hope so? I didn't do much to it. Though, I think I maybe did too much..." Fulmar grimaced.

"Let me try it," Crow tested out the food. "This is amazing, wow! Probably put a little cayenne pepper in it and you're good."

"Huh, you're right. Why don't you cook?"

"I'd burn it. I ruin every dish I try to make."

"That's...Actually really sad. It really isn't that difficult."

"Not burning things? Not for me."

"One day I could teach you. It wouldn't be hard to teach you."

"Live in ignorant bliss. Now, do we have any pillbugs?"

"Yep, they're in the pouch. Go easy on it, though."

"Don't worry, I will."

Crow filled a glass with the clear tincture, walking over to Felidae and Raven. He looked at the trees, which had thin leaves. Smiling, Crow walked up slowly, keeping his footsteps light. He perked his ears for a second, trying to overhear their conversation.

"...He didn't even really have good form. The only reason he was the top of his class was his speed. Look, out of the two of you, you are significantly better than Crow. The only job he can do is chase and sit. He acts no more like a dog, and you could agree," Felidae stated.

"You make Crow sound useless. The only reason you guys catch lightning as efficiently as you do is because of his speed. And not only that, but he can improvise and adapt to stressful situations very well. Half the plans I make for chasing are centered around Crow's speed and adaptability," Raven retorted.

"True, but Fulmar can match him in most of those aspects. We don't need a tree jumper, they're just luxury. What we needed was you, Raven. I only took him as well because you took a liking to him. For me to not want to waste him, he has to do something really good. Not a party trick or something. I want him to do nearly the impossible. Fulmar can almost do that, so should he," Felidae paused, and moved closer to Raven. "I only care about the best, you know this. Anyways, how was the trip to Hydrosteel?"

"Enjoyable. I got to pick a lock," Raven looked around. "And I got to spend time with Crow, my best man."

Crow backed up, stepping on a twig. He hissed a single 'Dios mio' to himself, before running away from Raven and the camp. 'Hopefully he won't think that it's me,' he hoped. Eventually he U-turned, going relatively close to camp. He stopped, panting lightly. Crow looked at the bottle in his hand, before sighing and downing the bottle. He took the bottle and threw it on the ground, breaking the glass.